Click here for live stats!

RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team hits the road this weekend for a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at defending conference regular season champion Tennessee Tech. Saturday’s doubleheader is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. EST, while Sunday’s single game is also set to begin at 2:00 p.m. EST.

The Colonels (14-27, 6-9 OVC) have lost five straight, including a sweep at the hands of UT Martin last weekend at Turkey Hughes Field, and will try to get back on track against a TTU team that beat them, 4-3, in the OVC Tournament last year.

Despite the recent struggles, EKU’s 1-2 punch of juniors Richie Rodriguez and Jacob Daniel continues to be one of the best duos in the OVC. Rodriguez leads the conference with 62 hits, is third with a .388 batting average and fourth with a .464 on-base percentage and 16 stolen bases. Daniel, meanwhile, is sixth in the league with a .376 batting average and tied for third with eight home runs second with 37 RBI.

Freshman Bryan Soloman has also emerged recently. Against East Tennessee State this week, the Jackson, N.J. native batted 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored, crushed his eighth home run of the season in the bottom of the third, added two doubles later in the game and is now batting above .300 (.306) for the first time since March 6.

EKU will send a new pitching rotation to the mound this weekend. Senior right-hander Chris Hord (1-1, 5.40 ERA), who has recorded 32 strikeouts in only 23.1 innings of relief work, will make his first start of the season in game one, while freshman lefty Kyle McGrath (3-3, 6.65 ERA) will start game two and senior right-hander Stephen Hefler (4-4, 3.73 ERA), who is fourth in the conference in ERA, will start game three.

TTU (17-21, 6-6 OVC) dropped two of three at Morehead State last weekend. The Golden Eagles will look to senior Casanova Donaldson to continue providing offensive. Donaldson is currently hitting .336 on the year with 24 RBI, while fellow veteran Chad Oberacker is hitting at a .303 mark with 37 RBI and a team-high eight home runs.

TTU will start Tristan Archer (5-4, 5.69 ERA) in game one, Matt Shepherd (2-4, 4.61 ERA) in game two and Nick Price (3-3, 5.31 ERA) in game three.

TTU leads the all-time series between the two schools, 70-54. Due to bad weather, the two teams did not play at all last year during the regular season. The entire series in Richmond last year was washed out by torrential rain.